Now this bugs me. And it bugs adgrunt Errol who brought this to my attention -

"I actually saw this ad in a community/family paper, three months before i read Campaign Brief Asia." he says about the first campaign - and the second makes him ask; "Now who copied who?... was it just a mere coincidence?... I'm sure there are ads out there which have tried the upside down trick routine too."

That Opium poster with the pale white nude Sophie Dahl - is now banned in most countries, like prude old Sweden and shockingly - Great Britain. Meanwhile back in Soho, FCUK are in trouble for that name again, you really should see Trevor Beattie's respons to that here. Stateside Ikea sells furniture with a leather teddy and a whip. Is sex the only way to get attention (and banned) these days?

You can picture it now: An advertising agency standing before the formidable board of rum lords Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, pitching an earth shattering idea in a pitch that will make all other contenders pale by comparison...

If you haven't read this line yet - what rock have you been hiding under? ah yes - that shirt. I remember it well. A colleague and I saw this image and promptly made such a shirt for our harley-crazy co-worker's leaving due. Did we see that shirt in an ad or in one of those images that get sent around emails? Can't remember. These two feel like they were an adaptation of each other..

On November 20th of 2000, Leo Burnett released a commercial into the airwaves for a scrappy UK fish canner by the name of John West. Using a delightful blend of ursine humour, animatronic costumery and street-smart martial arts, the spot soon took off all over the Web, ending up in a plethora of in-boxes around the world. Then, in late January of 2001, three surprisingly similar concepts swam across the pond and leapt into the living rooms of America... (Would you like to know more? WARNING - four films in one go fast lines only!)

On Monday the 13th of November, E James White Communications - from Washington D.C. - ran an ad with the by now infamous ballot as their visual. On Friday the 17th, Apple - leader of making bubblegum flavoured computers - ran a similar ad also with the ballot as a visual.